When we recognise the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection, love is born. Thich Nhat Hanh

Sooner or later, we will have to recognise that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans. Evo Morales

[T]he care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.Wendell Berry

What I think… ahhhh, well, I’ve never been able to think of earth as a mother – wrong species. There are many things wrong with earth, as well as with mankind. One obvious problem is that of the predator-prey concept as a means of maintaining a balance of terror in a world that is not just prolific, but too much so in some areas, not enough in others. Earth is not a balanced entity and that is why a species such as Earthians can exist, thrive and by eliminating its own predators, systematically eat up the living part of earth until nothing remains. The predator-prey controlling mechanism is a massive failure, conducive to generating fear and making the imposition of pain an enterprise that most Earthians still seem quite at ease with (when not actually enjoying doing it to animals, birds, fish and of course, other Earthians), considering how many of them continue to eat meat when being vegetarian is so much healthier, cheaper and simpler. Even the most dedicated “mother earth” lovers I’ve met don’t get it: there is evil at play within this world but that is not a politically correct approach to the problem so let’s live in denial and pretend. Are we having turkey or beef for our Earth Day dinner?

I do think that Earth (or Gaia) is an intelligent organism with many feedback and self-corrective mechanisms in place. It is us humans who have interfered with these natural processes to such an extent that we have many systems about to collapse (acidified oceans, warming temperatures leading to huge changes in most of Earth’s systems, deforestation, etc. etc). Those of us living in the industrialized countries of the world have contributed an inordinate amount to these Earth disturbances with our lifestyles, resource and energy use. All of the data and stats are available, so there is no need for me to get into the details. I do think that there’s a lot of hypocrisy, as you pointed out – we KNOW that we are killing the earth and some of us are making small changes, a few are making huge changes, but many don’t want to be bothered – they want to own their toys and enjoy them no matter what the consequences, to their own health, or the health of generations to come. I suspect that we’ll see so many rapid changes in the next 5 or 10 yrs, that all of us will be forced to make more changes than we ever imagined. As Evo Morales said, we can’t live without the Earth but Earth will do just fine without us.

Thanks for an elegant and moving post. I spent the day in support of these sentiments as I marched with thousands of citizens calling for sanity in our relationship with Mother Earth. And many of us will march again on April 29th, calling for recognition of the fact that protecting the Earth is our only hope for survival.

Thank you, Robin. I didn’t make it to the science march, nor the one coming up this weekend. However, I am trying hard on my end, within the boundaries of my power and responsibility to protect Her. Within the next few weeks, I will be adding new plants to my native plant landscape, supporting bees, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife that will benefit from them. Plus, they are beautiful to look at….

Annette, your beautiful tribute to Mother Earth touched me. I think it is because at this time of the year everything in Nicaragua is brown, wilted, and ugly. But, soon, the earth will be nourished again. I can’t wait. Meanwhile, I’ll look at your gorgeous photos.

Very topical post. March 11 the tsunami in Japan destroyed the nuclear power plant, April 26 an atomic power station in Ukraine exploded. There are more and more infected places on the planet … We forget that our Earth is unique.

Such beautiful fotos! Enriching thoughts, too. I too seek trees as best I can, and walk barefoot in my city park to take in ions and love from the earth. Every Mayday my Mother would go outside, raise her arms and say: “Our Mother the Earth is a maiden again,” and lead us as we children planted flowers in our window boxes.

Thank you, Campers. I try to remain grateful for all the goodness and riches the land is providing for us, both our personal property as well as the parks, rivers, and wilderness all around that are still open to us. Good luck with your own venture.